Krim Steinbelt
was a scientist who invented and is conscious within the , affectionately nicknamed by his user, Shinnosuke Tomari. He acts as a monitor for the Shift Brace when Shift Cars are used in his transformation bracelet. Aside from being able to control the Tridoron remotely, he can also use the Type-changing Shift Cars as his own body. History Mr. Belt was once Krim Steinbelt, the man who created the Core Driviars for the Shift Cars and the Tridoron. He assisted his friend Professor Banno in developing the Roidmudes after they hit a wall in development by giving them Core Driviars. However, they went out of control and began harming humanity instead of helping it. He resolved to stop them by using contingencies including the equipment used by Drive, but his home was attacked by the first three Roidmudes attacked his mansion, with his body being killed by Heart. Thus, he transferred his consciousness to the Drive Driver, and continued his fight by aiding Drive. He was present for the beginning of the Global Freeze and the rise and fall of Proto Drive. Following his comrade's death and despite being haunted by dreams of his past life, Mr. Belt continued to supervise the upgrades to the Drive system and scouted out a new candidate, finding one in forlorn, depressed super cop Shinnosuke Tomari. After revealing himself as the source of Tridoron's "Voice", Mr. Belt received his name and gained his new warrior in Shinnosuke. From then on, he would teach the young man all about the Roidmudes, the Shift Cars and what it meant to be the warrior Drive. Personality "Mr. Belt" an elegant individual, guiding Shinnosuke as he adapts and learns more about being Drive. He is very smart, having been the inventor of the Drive Driver, and his intelligence manifests in often adding English to his sentences. He often makes puns about driving like Kiriko, and though he is often cool, calm and collected, he becomes hot-blooded in battle. However, he is not without a dark side. Considering his past life as Steinbelt, Mr. Belt is very driven to fight the Roidmudes. He often prefers to keep secrets from Shinnosuke, causing a small rift between the two of them. Functionality Unlike other conventional drivers, the Drive Driver only acts as a sensor, while the actual activation for the Shift Cars are performed on the . Behind the Scenes Portrayal Krim Steinbelt, who is also the consciousness of the Drive Driver is portrayed by Chris Peppler. Conception The Drive Driver has been noted by producer Takahito Omori as Drive's version of K.I.T.T., the automobile housing an artificial intelligence in the TV series Knight Rider, keeping with Drive's description as 'Kamen Rider meets Knight Rider'.Translated version of the Interview from the "Kamen Rider Drive Staff Cross Talk" Magazine Scan Notes *Steinbelt's surname contains the syllabic representation for the word , which is also a nickname given to the Drive Driver. **This is confirmed in-universe in episode 10, when Shinnosuke quips "Mr Belt wasn't a bad nickname after all" after the Drive Driver reveals he used to be Krim Steinbelt. *The Drive Driver resembles a car's speedometer, while its straps resemble a seat belt. *This is the first Neo-Heisei transformation belt that is able to speak with its user. **It is the third sentient belt in the entire Heisei era, with the Masked Rider System's Zecters being the first and the Kivat-bat Family being the second. * Due to his actor being fluent in English, Mr. Belt often injects English words and phrases into his sentences, such as Exactly or Absolutely. External Links *TV Asahi's page on the Drive Driver